Accounting for freelancers and companies in Poland

Tax scale (skala)

What are the 2026 tax scale brackets?

0% up to 30,000 PLN, 12% up to 120,000 PLN, and 32% above. A separate 4% solidarity levy also applies to the portion of qualifying income above 1,000,000 PLN in some cases.

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When does the tax scale stop being the cheapest option?

Roughly 149,000 PLN against ryczałt, or 175,000 PLN against flat tax — assuming zero deductible costs. Real costs shift both.

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Flat tax (podatek liniowy)

How does flat tax health insurance differ from the tax scale?

4.9% instead of 9%, and up to 14,100 PLN/year of it is deductible — unlike the tax scale, where none of it is.

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Can I deduct real business expenses under flat tax?

Yes, exactly like the tax scale — this is the key difference from ryczałt, which allows no expense deduction at all.

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Ryczałt (lump sum)

What are the ryczałt rates by activity?

From 2% to 17% depending on the exact statutory classification — many specified IT services use 12%, but the actual PKWiU classification must be checked.

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Why do doctors pay 14% ryczałt, not 17%?

The 17% "liberal professions" rate no longer covers doctors, architects, or engineers since the Polski Ład reform — they moved to 14%.

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When does ryczałt beat the tax scale?

At the 12% IT rate with zero deductible costs, roughly 149,000 PLN/year.

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sp. z o.o. company

What's the sp. z o.o. corporate tax rate?

9% as a small taxpayer, or 19% otherwise — determined by two separate revenue thresholds.

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Does the owner get the same ZUS relief as a JDG founder?

No — a sole shareholder pays full ZUS from day one, with none of the JDG start-relief or preferential-rate stages.

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If you have a specific question about freelancing or running a company in Poland, feel free to reach out to us. We offer a free initial consultation.

Can I deduct real business expenses under Poland's flat tax?

Yes. Flat tax (podatek liniowy) lets you subtract actual, documented costs incurred to earn, preserve, or secure business revenue, and the 19% rate applies to the resulting income. But normal statutory exclusions and limits still apply — for example to private expenditure, representation, cars, depreciation, and transactions that do not meet the business-purpose test — so "legitimate" is not an unlimited category.

How is this different from ryczałt?

Ryczałt taxes gross revenue directly, with no expense deduction at all. This is the single biggest structural difference between Poland's four JDG-adjacent options: tax scale and flat tax both deduct real costs; ryczałt doesn't, no matter how large your genuine expenses are.

So when does that matter?

If you have significant deductible costs — subcontractors, equipment, software licenses — flat tax (or the tax scale) will usually beat ryczałt even at a low ryczałt rate, because ryczałt has no mechanism to reflect those costs at all. Ryczałt is most attractive specifically when your real costs are low relative to revenue.

See the full Polish freelancer tax guide for the complete comparison across all four methods.

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Not sure whether your expense profile favors flat tax or ryczałt? Feel free to reach out — we offer a free initial consultation.

How does flat tax health insurance differ from the tax scale?

Under Poland's flat 19% tax (podatek liniowy), health insurance is 4.9% of taxable income — roughly half the tax scale's 9% rate. And unlike the tax scale, where health insurance isn't deductible at all, flat tax lets you deduct a portion of what you pay, capped at 14,100 PLN/year. And a minimum also applies. It was 314.96 PLN for January 2026 and is 432.54 PLN/month from February through December.

What do I give up to get the lower rate?

The 30,000 PLN tax-free allowance and any joint-filing benefit with a spouse — flat tax applies 19% from the first zloty of taxable income, with no 0% band at the bottom. You still deduct real, documented business expenses, same as the tax scale.

And at high income, "flat 19%" is not the whole bill, the separate 4% solidarity levy applies to the portion of the relevant annual base above 1,000,000 PLN.

When does flat tax actually beat the tax scale?

Roughly above 175,000 PLN/year in the zero-expense, full-ZUS scenario — below that, the tax scale's tax-free allowance keeps it cheaper despite the higher 9% health rate. Real business costs shift the crossover because both methods deduct them.

See the full Polish freelancer tax guide for the worked 200,000 PLN example and the comparison against ryczałt.

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Weighing flat tax against the other JDG methods? Feel free to reach out — we offer a free initial consultation.